UK-based non-governmental organisation ShareAction has announced that a group of 33 investors overseeing more than $1.1trn in assets have urged out-of-home food companies, such as restaurants, to disclose the ‘healthiness’ of their sales.
The signatories include Aviva Investors, Axiom, Crédit Mutuel Asset Management, LBP AM, and Nest.
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According to a ShareAction statement, they called on businesses to strengthen health and nutrition disclosure by adopting nutrient profiling tools and calorie-based indicators.
The intervention, coordinated by ShareAction, is described as the first collective investor effort focused specifically on the nutritional quality of food sold in the out-of-home market.
The investors said that poor diets have triggered a “major global health crisis”, exposing the sector – and investor capital – to growing financial, policy and reputational threats.
They argue that limited disclosure is hindering their ability to gauge companies’ vulnerability to future regulation, shifts in consumer demand and their wider impact on public health.
ShareAction Healthy Markets Initiative lead Garance Boullenger said: “Responsible investors have made it clear that healthy sales disclosure can no longer be optional.
“With one in five deaths linked to poor diets globally, unhealthy food is fuelling a public health crisis.
“Fast-food chains and restaurants play a big part in our daily lives, but they provide very little visibility on how healthy – or unhealthy – their sales actually are. Transparency and ambitious targets are fundamental to making our lives and economies healthier.”
Data cited in the announcement from British foundation Nesta shows that 60% of people in the UK buy food from out-of-home providers such as restaurants, takeaways, pubs and bakeries at least once a week.
Despite this reach, investors say the segment trails food retailers and manufacturers in reporting on health and nutrition.
The statement also noted that healthier eating is gaining priority for consumers, alongside an exponential rise in the use of weight-loss medications.
